Ok asking for advice

[CelestiCer]

...basically the thing is apparently I'm starting a static within my free company.

Been in a few Statics myself that have failed for numerous reasons... From Loot-Scooting alts to a RL couple Drama, screaming shot-callers, to players pursuing parsing before even clearing the fight. I seen a lot... So I'd like to share few major pointers that I hope could help.

Setup Clear Expectations from the get-go
The purpose of the Static is x and your Goal is x. This helps keep your Static members focused on what they all agreed upon is important rather then raiding aimlessly. Rather it be for gearing up to BiS, clearing the entire tier, pursuing Ultimate, or just clearing up until a certain point vs raiding aimlessly and having unexpected-expectations building up within Static members beyond what you as a group set for yourselves.

Don't get trapped in a Bubble...
Was once part of a Static hell-bend on doing Static Strats, being stuck on fights for days until I went to PF alone to compare strats. If something doesn't work for a long period of time? and PF is clearing it fine with other strats? Don't let ego get in the way of admitting something you're doing could be worse. Believe you me... you don't want to be stuck on a fight because the Raid lead thinks their way is the high way... and unable to admit their flaws.

Don't be Afraid to Fail
I myself had raiding anxiety, as I was parse shamed after clearing the first few Savage fights at Eden, thinking I finally improved! Only to be kicked out parties like I wasn't worth Raiding with... Overcoming failing over and over? is a good quality to have. You'll learn a lot more by failing and it doing it right? then not failing ever to begin with. It boosts your confidence not only as a player? but also as a Static together. Don't ever be afraid to fail fights, fail as many mechanics as many times as you have to and to do it right, keep on encouraging each-other. I definitely did not regret the countless mistakes I made and continue to make, I learn from each and every one of them.

[Xirean]

Never done savage raiding myself but by the sounds of it you will have people who just recently got access to the current end game content so their gear will likely be subpar for a while. Perhaps because of this it might be useful to prog the ShB raids first as a way to build group cohesion for learning mechanics in an environment where nobody will have to worry about gear because it's old content.

[DixieBellOCE]

Never done savage raiding myself but by the sounds of it you will have people who just recently got access to the current end game content so their gear will likely be subpar for a while. Perhaps because of this it might be useful to prog the ShB raids first as a way to build group cohesion for learning mechanics in an environment where nobody will have to worry about gear because it's old content.

The marketboard gear with a mix of normal raid gear for specific stats in 6.4 will be the baseline requirement, with the EX trial weapon from Golbez.

[Lunaxia]

I agree with Saraide in that perhaps doing a few EX trials as a warm up to more difficult content might be a good idea. Jumping straight into Savage from completing the MSQ (I'm assuming they're newer players and haven't just taken their time getting around to playing) might be a bit overwhelming. There's something to be said for a trial by fire, but it may take longer to see results and wind up burning a few people out, or affecting their confidence. When EX fights start feeling comfortable, check out some guides on Youtube and go slow. Also, some people learn differently, and might benefit from additional diagrams and text guide, especially when there's one mechanic in particular that's proving difficult.

There are times it will feel repetitive, monotonous, or slow-going. You will have days where you fly through prog and days where you wipe endlessly at phases you thought you knew. It's normal. When you feel frustrated, turn off and take a break, and acknowledge that some sessions are a loss. Have fun, be kind, remember it is a game you are playing with friends and should be an enjoyable part of your day, not a chore. Encourage people to ask questions if they're struggling, don't point fingers, try to address the group rather than singling somebody out, and don't be afraid to check and re-check macros and strats with everyone if needs be. Players can typically tell if they're lagging behind the group and will come to you, but if they're unaware, discuss them it with privately from the angle of what you can do to help. If someone in your group has more experience than you, listen to them.

Lastly, don't blame yourself if things don't work out. Sometimes things fall apart no matter how hard you try, either because of busy schedules, personality clashes or simple burn out, and it's no one's fault. Move on, recruit, and try again, and eventually revel in the spoils of your hard work with shiny glam loot!

[Mcg55ss]

Thanks for advice to answer few concerns idk bout double stacking events..it's 1 a day but I'll make sure everyone knows maps are optional and don't feel for ed to join, as for FC statics that something foreign to me here. As I said I came from WoW and 90% of your raid teams are in guild and majority operate with lil to no drama now there are outliers of course but FF thing against it is weird to me. The recruiting discird I am there but the 6 I have we all met and became friends through gold saucer over time on the same server so NGL I hope I can finish the group that way. On the gearing our sage healer is max in every profession (road to 80 helps a lot) and pretty much can make everyone the pieces they need to be raid ready. I do like the setting goals and talking with everyone and I will do this probably when I get home today, also don't fancy myself a leader but my sage healer and I met 10 years ago when I was the GM of the 1st raid guild he ever joined in WoW and honestly I was looking for one to join with him but our group kept growing to the point like I said it's might as well say 6 so no point in trying to find one to join with that many might as well step up and lead. Also starting in ex might be great since none of us have raided savage so might get us used to mechanics, Ty for all advice though y'all have given me some good ideas to talk about and address if you have any more I am open to information

[Ath192]

Thanks for advice to answer few concerns idk bout double stacking events.

......

Ty for all advice though y'all have given me some good ideas to talk about and address if you have any more I am open to information

Here is the advice I can give you and what I would start doing asap because you guys are new. You are putting your FC at risk by doing this, even if you think you aren't, and that's why people don't generally do it in XIV. So preparation is going to be your best friend.

You have 2 weeks before 6.4 releases or so.

#1 You dont need 8/8 to get started, while you recruit, the first thing you want to do is secure commitment and instill confidence while detecting issues before they blow up into drama. As such the first step is to get your party to unlock SSS and go to Thavnair X29Y17



There you will ask everyone to finish the dummy for Rubicante EX, this a very low DPS check, far easier than you would encounter even in P5S. It is also a standing dummy so there are no mechanics to be worried about.

If they are having trouble you will point them to https://www.thebalanceffxiv.com/ and research their job rotations. I use the discord, but the website seems to look nice as well.

#2 You will go to Aether and go clear Rubicante with them, set up a pug 6/8 or whoever didn't drop off after step 1 and attempt to clear it. Why Aether? I hate to say it but PFs are dead right now in other DCs and this is just sure fire way to get people without sitting for hours in PF. Any character can DC hop anyways.

Here is a good guide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_v6...HectorLectures

#3 AFTER you clear Rubicante, make sure everyone seems excited and up for this type of stuff and tell them in their free time or organize one of your raid nights before 6.4 to clear or at least practice the P8S Dummy in SSS, the place mentioned in #1. This is much tighter DPS but with ilvl 625 + Gear it should be feasible. This is the type of challenge you are signing up for anyways.


If you succeed at all these three things you will be in good shape. And most of these except the EX night is something everyone can work on their time. If you fail at any besides the last one those are major red flags and you saved yourself 4 months and possibly an FC. Hopefully by then you have the 8/8 group but I've seen 5/8 and 6/8 groups pugging the tier no problem. So a full static is good, but not absolutely required. Get ready to lose raid night time filling in PF though.

Or you could just wing it. Anyways, I believe in these methods to prepare you for sucess. GL.

[Lunaxia]

Here is the advice.

I mean... there's good advice here and elsewhere in the thread, but OP specified most of the players are new to raiding and I can't help but think this would suck a lot of the fun out of the whole experience for them as sprouts starting on the raid scene, not to mention potentially intimidate or overwhelm them. He also said they are friends, so I doubt advising him to treat the whole deal like a business transaction and view members as disposable commodities is what he's looking for.

We all have our own preferences for playing, of course, and what we're hoping to get out of it, but some of it seems kind of cold, and even as a more experienced player it sounds like a good way to make Savage a bit of a miserable experience. Not everyone is out purely for the drops; some people actually want to have a good time with friends as well.

[Ath192]

I mean... there's good advice here and elsewhere in the thread, but OP specified most of the players are new to raiding and I can't help but think this would suck a lot of the fun out of the whole experience for them as sprouts starting on the raid scene, not to mention potentially intimidate or overwhelm them. He also said they are friends, so I doubt advising him to treat the whole deal like a business transaction and view members as disposable commodities is what he's looking for.

We all have our own preferences for playing, of course, and what we're hoping to get out of it, but some of it seems kind of cold, and even as a more experienced player it sounds like a good way to make Savage a bit of a miserable experience. Not everyone is out purely for the drops; some people actually want to have a good time with friends as well.

Yes, I was very cold and objective. And I get the emotional appeal you are going for. This develops organically, or doesn't, based on each individual group and their dynamics/how they treat each other. I can't advise on that because that's up to them and how they interact. He asked for advice on raiding with a static and I gave him how to break down the math of raiding and objective metrics to test their mettle and commitment to the cause.

I can't tell you how to have fun, but I can tell you how you may increase your chances of succeeding. If I just told him to have fun and be happy that wouldn't be much help would it? But yes, I hope they do have fun and are happy.

A lot of people find succeeding fun and rewarding. And to counter your point I've known people that thought they were friends and then their static can't clear and they start hating each other and never talk again. That sounds pretty miserable as well doesn't it? So all we can do is hope and give people tools so they have an easier time in their goals.

[DixieBellOCE]

Set Expectations from the start.

That is the one piece of advice from a savage/ultimate raider that i can give you.

If people have different expectations, the static will collapse, everyone needs to know exactly what is expected of them on a week to week basis before you even think about going into a raid.

Gearing, Loot Distrubution, Weekly tome caps, Understanding of jobs and buff windows, mechanical knowledge on all types of stack markers, debuff icons ect ect.

[Mcg55ss]

#3 AFTER you clear Rubicante, make sure everyone seems excited and up for this type of stuff and tell them in their free time or organize one of your raid nights before 6.4 to clear or at least practice the P8S Dummy in SSS, the place mentioned in #1. This is much tighter DPS but with ilvl 625 + Gear it should be feasible. This is the type of challenge you are signing up for anyways.


If you succeed at all these three things you will be in good shape. And most of these except the EX night is something everyone can work on their time. If you fail at any besides the last one those are major red flags and you saved yourself 4 months and possibly an FC. Hopefully by then you have the 8/8 group but I've seen 5/8 and 6/8 groups pugging the tier no problem. So a full static is good, but not absolutely required. Get ready to lose raid night time filling in PF though.

Or you could just wing it. Anyways, I believe in these methods to prepare you for sucess. GL.

There's a practice dummy with a DPS check?? ...1st I'm hearing of this LoL that is a awesome feature in game but I will be sure to let people know about it, I'm sure this will be learning curve regardless for everyone since we are all new to this stuf so I'm sure some rotations will need to be adjusted to perform better, Also we probably won't be starting EXACTLY when 6.4 comes out because our sage 2 weeks after has to go home cuz his dad is getting out of the hospital to visit so our expected start is ~ 4-6 weeks after 6.4 launches to casually approach it so I'm sure there will be many fleshed out strategies before we enter but this life.

As for Dixie we are setting them (very low honestly to start because so many new people 1st time raiding our biggest focus is learning in knowledge of the game, out class and improvement for this 1st one) gearing is set, working with understanding jobs and buff windows, we know all the icons from dungeons now if their are raid specific video guides hopefully do good job of showing and explaining them

Ty both for the suggestions and tips